As far as news years go, 2016 was a big one.  

There was Donald Trump and Brexit, but also a peace deal in Colombia, failed coup in Turkey, impeachments in Brazil and South Korea and horrific bloodshed in Syria. 

Closer to home, news was just as explosive. A series of car bombs shook the nation, as did the sudden explosion of a French reconnaissance plane shortly after take-off in Luqa, while the hijack of a Libyan passenger plane had the nation on tenterhooks just before Christmas.

The collapse of a seaside restaurant balcony in Balluta left eight injured but could have turned out far worse, while the discovery of German teenager Mike Mansholt's dead body at Dingli Cliffs put a damper on summer.

Fireworks exploded in spectacular and frightening fashion in Marsaxlokk in July; an equally tremendous fireworks explosion in Gudja destroyed cars and flattened a room but was not enough to silence Lucky the Goat

Activists reopened access to Manoel Island's foreshore and with it a massive can of worms, and Muslims praying in public led to ugly protests from self-styled 'Maltese patriots'. 

The nation rejoiced as 66 turtles hatched at Golden Bay and cheered as Ira Losco headed to the Eurovision to sing about walking on water. Pokemon Go took Malta by storm, while an impromptu jamming session on the Frankfurt subway saw local musician Ozzy Lino clock more than 70 million views on YouTube and Facebook. 

In politics, the Panama Papers loomed even larger than the LNG tanker that chugged into Marsaxlokk Bay. 

Bjorn Formosa's extraordinary €100,000 donation to ALS research stunned the nation, and the inspirational words of 11-year-old Samuel got people digging deep to raise a record €5.5 million in the annual L-Istrina charity telethon. 

In sports, local speed demon Duncan Micallef became the fastest drag racer in Europe while it was a red-letter year for Malta's waterpolo team, which qualified for the final phase of the European Waterpolo Championships. 

Times of Malta videographer Steve Zammit Lupi has combined these and other significant moments in Malta's 2016 in a two-minute video. We hope you enjoy it. 

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